One of the Greek Fathers, Bishop of Caeserea,
and brother to SS. Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste, was a
prolific writer and defender of the doctrine of the Incarnation
of Jesus Christ. The emblem refers to his building up the Church.

A commander of the army in Milan, Sebastian
exerted his influence to strengthen and save fellow Christians during
the Diocletian persecution. He was denounced and ordered shot to
death with arrows, but when it was discovered that he was still
alive, he was beaten to death.

Blessed be His
Holy Name.

The month of January is dedicated to the Holy
Name of Jesus, which is celebrated on January
3. The first eight days of January fall during the liturgical
season known as Christmas which is represented by the liturgical color white. The remaining
days of January are the beginning of Ordinary Time. The liturgical
color changes to green — a symbol of the hope of reaping
the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious

The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of January 2019

Evangelization: That young people, especially in Latin America, follow the example of Mary and respond to the call of the Lord to communicate the joy of the Gospel to the world. (See also Apostleship of Prayer)

Feasts for January

The feasts on the General Roman Calendar celebrated
during the month of January are:

The Gospels for the Sundays in January are taken from St. Matthew, St. John and St. Luke and are from Year C, Cycle 1 of the readings.

January 6th - Epiphany of the Lord

This Gospel is about the Wise Kings visit to the Christ Child.

January
13th - Baptism of the Lord

This Gospel is about Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan.

January
20th - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Gospel is about the wedding feast at Cana.

January
27th - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus speaks in the synagogue in Nazareth.

Highlights of the Month

In the first part of January we continue to rejoice and celebrate Christ's coming at Bethlehem and in our hearts. We have the wonderful feasts of Mary, Mother of God, where we honor Mary's highest title, and then we follow the Magi to the crib as they bring their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh on Epiphany. Finally we reach the culmination of this season with the Baptism of Our Lord by St. John the Baptist. With a touch of sadness we take down our decorations and enter into the liturgical period known as Ordinary Time where we will devote ourselves to the mystery of Christ in its entirety.

This is a time of growth and an opportunity to allow the dignity of Sunday to shine forth prolonging the joy of Easter and Pentecost. Besides those previously mentioned the month's major feasts include: St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen (January 2), Holy Name of Jesus (January 3), St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (January 4), St. John Neumann (January 5), St. Raymond of Penafort (January 7), St. Anthony, abbot (January 17), St. Agnes (January 21), St. Vincent of Saragossa (January 23), St. Francis de Sales (January 24), the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25), Sts. Timothy and Titus (January 26), St. Thomas Aquinas (January 28) and St. John Bosco (January 31).

The feasts of St. Andre Bessette (January 6),Sts. Fabian and Sebastian (January 20) and St. Angela Merici (January 27)are superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

The Winter Seasons

The opening days of January may be cold and nature bleak, but the domestic church still glows warm with the peace and joy of Christmas. We dedicate the New Year to Mary on the January 1st Solemnity honoring her as Mother of God; and on January 7, the Solemnity of Epiphany, we rejoice with her, as her Son is adored by the three Wise Men.

Herald John, who ushered in the Advent season, is present once again to close Christmastide on the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (The First Luminous Mystery), and to open the Season of Ordinary Time. He points to Jesus, the Lamb of God who unites time and eternity in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and even January’s diminishing darkness seems to echo St. John’s prayer: “He must increase and I must decrease.”

In this liturgical season the Church eagerly follows Our Lord as he gathers his apostles and announces his mission. At Cana’s wedding feast (The Second Luminous Mystery) he performs his first public miracle at the request of his Mother, and his disciples saw his glory and believed in him.

We, his present-day disciples pray for a like faith as we contemplate the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb and the unique role of the Blessed Mother in the plan of salvation. May we wholeheartedly obey her words of counsel: “Do whatever he tells you.”

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